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About Google Book Search Google's mission is to organize the world's information and to make it universally accessible and useful. Google Book Search helps readers discover the world's books while helping authors and publishers reach new audiences. You can search through the full text of this book on the web at |http: //books .google .com/I TANNING LEATHER FACILITATED, UAVID II. KENNEDY'S PROCESS. Ho^toi LvGooglf iLvGooglf iLvGooglf Ho^toi LvGooglf THE ART TANNING LEATHER; L NEW AND IMPROVED SYSTEM THEORETICALLY AND PEACTICALLY OONBIDBEED IN ALL ITB DETAILS. DAVID H. KENNEDY, Ho^toi LvGooglf Hug to Act of Congress, in tlia year ISBT, by DAVID H. KENHEDT, Ho^toi LvGooglf LETTERS PATENT GRANTED On the 4tb floy of Jamiaty, A. D. 185i. FEiNCE, iaj of Febru&r)', A. D. 13H. BELGIUM, Oa the BItli iay of April, A. D. 1 THE UNITED STATES OF On tbe 14th daj of April, A. D. KUSSIA AND SPAIN APPLIED FOE. DAVID H. KENNEDY, Ho^toi LvGoOglf These directions, when filled up, arc not to be left exposed to the esamination of such as may desire to- possess themselves of tbwr secrets. But should, for lie benefit of the Patentee as well as the purchaser, be strictly kept from the public eye. iLvGoOglf CONTENTS. Preface 11 INTIIODUCTIOK. Returns of the Census of A. D. 1852, shoi the condition of tlie Tanning interest, . CHAPTEE II. The different kinds of Skins suitable for Tan- ning — Buenos Ayres hides — Brazilian hides — Cow-hides — American Ox-hidea — Spanish or South American dry hides — Calcutta or Nagore hides — Calf-skins — Horse-hides — Goat-skins — Sheep-skins — Deeriskins — and the Mode of Salting hides iLvGoOglf CHAPTER III. Structure and Composition of tlie Skin— Fibrino — Gelatine — Albumen — Animal Matter — Tannic Acid uniting with Gelatine and forming Leather ^^ CHAPTER IV. Soaking, Softening, and Washing Hides — An Illustration, with a Description of tlic Hide- mill and Washing-mafihine 69 CHArTEK V. Composition JVb. 1. For removing Hair, Wool, Grease, Mucus, and other impurities from the Skins — An Ulns- tration, with a full description of the Beam- CHAPTER VI. Bating. Reducing the Skins to their Original Thict- iLvGoOglf CliAPTEK Vn. The Pi'opei-ties of the Ingredients used in the Composition for Tanning-— Their effects upon the Hides— The Places of Production— The New York Prices CHAPTER VIIL sitton No. 2. For Tanning — The proper proportions of In- gredients, with full and clear Directions for using them — A Description of the Bark- ometer 109 CHAPTER IX. Example. Tanning one hundred common-sized Calf-skins, 121 CHAPTER X. Tanning thirty Ox-hides for the Manufacture of Patent Leather — The Handhng-house, witJi Notes— Splitting-machine.'. 133 iLvGoOglf S CONTENTS. CHAPTER Xr. Hxample. Tanning fifty sides of Sole-leather 149 CHAPTER XII. Currying and Finishing Leather — Shaving Harness Leather — Blacked Bridle — ^Russet Bridle — Horse Leather— Wax Leather — Grained Leather — Patent Leather 167 CHAPTER XIIL The Textnre and Quality of Leather 185 CHAPTER XIV. Remarks on Tanning — Illustration of Clinton Tamneiy, with Notes 195 CHAPTER XV. Tlie Mechanics' True Position, A Word of Cheer to the Hearty Tanner 2lT Ho^toi LvGooglf C0MTEHT8, 9 CHAPTER XVI. The Tanners' Cheer. Illustrated by a Party of 'I'annera Singing tlie ■words to the time of tJie Marseillaise Hymn, 243 CHAPTER XVII. Copy of Patent granted, in the United States, on the 14th day of April, I8oT 249 CHAPTER XVIII. Copy oF Specification of Patent 253 Ho^toi LvGoOglf iLvGooglf PREFACE. The following directions have been prepared expressly for information as to the practical application of scientific principles wliicTi characterize the pro- gress of the improvement, and are offered to that portion of the public which is interested in the leather and tanning business. Like every other ai-t, that of tanning has lately made great progress towards perfection. Ingenious and practical men have devoted their energies to actual experiments, and chemical agencies have been employed with varied success, iLvGooglf until, at length, tlie desideratum seems to liave teen attained, whicK affords a new and complete substitute for tlie manufacturing of all kinds of leather. This must soon give it a world-wide celebrity, and entitle it to the attention of all concerned in the leather busine^. The Patentee, Mr. K., takes great pleas- ure in giving a comprehensive descrip- tion of the different preparations for using the improvement ; , and I subsciibe my hearty good wishes for the success of the invention for the pm-pose of pro- curing the desired infomiation. Inqui- ries have been directed to the consulta- tion of Sir Humphrey Davy, Professors Turner and Ure, and several other cele- brated authors. In this way the author has obtained the most accurate knowl- edge of the chemistry of tanning, and for giving a full and comprehensive treatise on changing hides into leather. iLvGooglf INTEODTJCTION. The art of tanning is tkat by whicli animal skins are converted into leather, a product differing entu-ely from that of the raw material^ and adapting it to the useful purpose for which it is employed. The properties imparted ai-e of a physical nature, and vary with the kind of akin employed and the modifica- tions of the process which it midergoes. Chemically considered, however, leather is a definite compound of tannin and gelatin. Tanning, as an art, dates as iLvGooglf INTRODUCTIOM. far back as nine hundred years before Cbrbt. The methods resorted to in early times consisted of little more than merely cleansing and drying the skins; and, thus prepared, the latter were used for clothing, &c. Leather was largely in use among the ancient i^yptiana, and the workers of that material were so numerous that tSe Memnonian quarter, Thebes, was charac- terized as their especial locality. Their skill in fashioning it was so great that ornaments -of all shapes and devices were made from it. Leather was made by them into tapestry, and many of the Egyptian tombs bear representations of artificers in leather engaged in the several branch^ of their vocation. The principal steps in 'the manufac- ture of leather are the washing and soaking, for the purpose of cleaning and softening the skins, and preparing them iLvGooglf for the removal of tlie hair. This is effected T>y the use of lime, or other substances which destroy, dissolve, or soften the bulbous roots of the hair, and thus facilitate its removal by mere mechanical scraping with a blunt- edged knife. During this part of the process, another important end is gen- erally accomplished in the swelling of the tissues and their preparations for the more complete and easy absorption of the tanning principle. The primitive mode of removing the hair was tliat of shaving it off with a knife; but the use of lime was known even among the early Egyptians. "When the rationale of depilation is better understood by practical tanners, the slow and incon- venient process of depilation by means of hme must give place to more effective, rapid, and economical methods. In later times, these defects were remedied iLvGooglf INTROrUCXlOK. by immersing the cleansed and. de- haired akin in an infueion of oak "bark or solution of alum, and thus, by effect- ing a union between one or more con- stituents of the liquor and a gelatinoua tissue of the skin, producing a new compound with desirable properties. The principles governing this reaction have been, in more recent days, devel- oped by the investigations of Proust, Deyeaux, McBride, and Sir Humphrey Davy ; and it is owing to the researches of these inquirers that the occupation of the tanner has been elevated from the condition of an empirical pursuit to that of an art based upon scientific princi- ples. Many improvements in the ai-t have been made by the aid of inge- niously contrived machinery, and much has been done to hasten the process of tanning. Tanning consists in the combination of iLvGooglf INTRODUCTION. the gelatinous tissue with tannin by im- mersing the skins ia an infusion of oak bark or other substances containing tannin. The tanning influence is proba- bly not exerted solely by the tannin, but also partly by the extractive matter, more or less of which always exists in the tanning material. During the soaking, the epidermis of the skins disappears, and the tissue of the latter is gelatinized, and thus predis- posed to chemical union with the tannin. This gelatinization of the tissues is all- essential, and is promoted by the gallic acid fermentation of the tanning mate- rial. This is the more probable science. The same effect may be produced by the use of a very dilute acetic, and other operations intended to perfect the quality and appearance of the leather. Leather is employed for many useful and ornamental purpose ; andnnmeroas iLvGooglf INTROBUCTION. are its applications to various branches of industry. Besides its extensive use for covering the head and feet, wearing- apparel, saddles, harness, carriages, and the purposes of the book-binder, it is largely employed for the embellishment of objects of taste and ornament. In- dependently of the direct importance of the leather trade, it eserts a very decided incidental influence in devel- oping the resource of a country, by giving value to certain materials used in and resulting from its manufacture. Besides the immense employment which it gives to thousands of artisans, it has built up colonies and towns, which owe their oiTgin and progress entirely to the interests connected with it. Even the waste materials of slaughter-houses, tan- neries, curriers' shops and workers in leather, have important applications — the horns serving for the manufacture iLvGooglf INTROBUCTION. of combs, buttons, and umbrella furni- ture ; the bail- for plastering ; tlie spent lime for the farmer; the sldn-clippings for the glue-boiler ; and the leather shavings for the manufacturer of prus- siate of potash. The following state- ments will give an idea of the vast extent and rapid increase of the trade in leather. In France — a country eminent for the quantity and quality of the leather which it produces — the average number of skins annually converted into leather is about three millions of whole skins, exclusive of sheep and calf skins. In the United States, the manufacture of leather is only beginning to be of much importance. Since the early part of the present centuiy it has been rapidly extended, until it has become, with its allied and dependent ai-ts, one of the most prominent elements of national iLvGooglf INTRODUCTION. prosperity. This improved system is conducted in the most simple and primi- tive manner. The expenditure both of time and labor is now materially re- duced by the different modea and treatment of the process. The unpar- alleled success which has attended the introduction of the patent process set forth in this work, and the Ottering encomimns bestowed upon the direc- tions given in a former edition, induce me to extend them a little farther, hoping they will be understood by all those who wiil avail themselves of this improved system for the manufacture of leather. I have extended the information in this, the third edition of directions, and hope that my fellow-tanners will read them with a generous allowance for the imperfect style in which they are given ; hoping, also, that they will keep in iLvGooglf INTRODUCTION. mind that they are not fiction, but sober trntlis, intended expressly for tlie appli- cation of the process. For some time past my whole time and attention have been given exclu- sively to the introduction of this pro- cess, believing from the first that its merits would, in tifne, bring it into general, use, which is now acknowledged to be a fixed fact by those most con- versant with it. Its general adoption is now only a question of time ; for as fast as it becomes known it is adopted. This being the case, I wish to give all the information I can respecting the manner and different methods of using it. To those tannere who have adopted and seen fit to recommend this new process for tanning leather, I return my sincere thanks, and assure them that their kindness to me, and approbation of the improvement, will not be foir gotten. iLvGooglf INTRODUCTION. We append a statistical tatle, com- piled from the returns of the seventh census, showing the condition of the tanning interest. The National Intelligencer compiles, from the census returns, the following table of the tanneries in the United States, in A. D. 1850 : No. of establishments, . . 9,263 Capital invested, . . . $18,900,557 Value of raw material, . 19,613,237 Value of product, . . . 32,861,796 The number of hides is 6,128,070; skins, 2,653,865; and about 6,000,000 sheep, goat, and other small skins tan- ned and dressed annually, which are not included in the number. The number of hands employed is 20,909 males and 102 females. The monthly wages of the males amount to |416,214 ; of the females, $970. The number of sides of iLvGooglf INTKODDOTtON. leather produced annually, is 12,557,940, and of skins, 2,653,865. The foregoing estimates were care- fully compiled from the returns of the seventh census, for the National Intel- ligencer, and may he considered correct. Leather forms one of the heaviest items among the staples of American merchandise, and the demands for it are daily increasing, in addition to its extensive employment for the embel- lishment of objects of taste and orna- ment. If we take it for gi'anted that the leather trade has advanced in amount at the rate of 10 per cent, per annum, for the last seven years, the figures should now stand thus : Amount of capital in- vested, .... $32,030,946 90 Value of raw material, 33,342,502 90 Value of product, . . 55,865,053 20 iLvGooglf INTRODUCTION. Tliese calculations may fall short of, but it is believed that they do not exceed, the truth. They may at least serve to indicate the vast extent and rapid increase of the leather trade in this country. But what must it be a quarter of a century hence ? At the present rate of increase, we may fairly calculate that in twenty-five years hence the tanning and currying business wUl have tripled, thus placing it almost in the van of all domestic manufactures. A business of such ex- tent and importance, well deserves the attention of the manufacturer, for what- ever abridges and facilitates the process, adds to the value of the capital invested. The claims of this Patent are reason- able and philosophical. Tanning is wholly a chemical process, converting hides into leather. The perfection of the results of this process, depends not iLvGooglf INTRODUCTION. SO much upon the energy and proper combination of such astringent proper- ties and chemicals as are employed to effect it. The more rapid the action of these agents, and the quicker their work is done, the more pei-fect is the article manufactured. This is the doc- trine of the improvement set forth in this work ; and its correctness, econ- omy, and' great utility, we are ready to submit to the scrutiny of science and the test of the most thorough experi- ment. The leather manufactured by this process is of a finer texture, softer, sus- ceptible of a higher finish, less porous, more pliable, stronger, heavier, and more durable than leather tanned in the ordi- nary way. The quality of the material itself — which any man may examine — and its use and trial for years, authorize these high claims. They are announced iLvGooglf to the public witk the most hnplielt confldenee in their accuracy and relia- bility. "We respectfully invite particular at- tention to the following statements ;— The numerous and great advantages of this improvement, both to the manu- facturer and to the consumer, are mat- ters on which the most satisfactory information may be obtained. The adoption of this process by every tanner in the United States is practic- able. It consists chiefly in the applica- tion of a proper compound or combina- tion of certain chemicals to the usual bark, li(iuors or other astringent prop- erties, -possessing tannin, thereby caus- ing a much more rapid advancement in the tanning of leather than is or can be produced by the ordinary process. It requires no new fixtures or expensive outlay. .After the hides are tanned bj iLvGooglf INTRODUCTION. this process, the scouring, stuffing, oil- ing, 'blackening, and finishing are con- ducted as they ever have "been. This improvement will be found of great general economy and utility. A correct tnowledge of it must secure its univei-sal adoption. The followmg facts sustain this conclusion: — Many of the most experienced, scientific, and enlight- ened tanners and other artisans con- nected with the manufacture or sale of leather, have certified to the superior excellence of the leather manufactured by this process, as possessing all the es- sential properties I'equisite for beauty and utility. We believe a similar opin- ion is entertained by all who have care- fully examined the leather, and who are competent to form a correct judgment of the article manufactured. To capitalists, and especially to those who have invested large amounts of iLvGooglf INTRODUCTION, money in the manufacture of leather, the following estimates, showing the difference in the expense of tanning, be- tween the old method and this patent process of tanning, will be interwting: — ONE TEAe's WOEK by THE OLB METHOD. To present this matter so as it may- be readily comprehended by those doing a small business, we will exhibit it oh a a small scale. Under the old method of tanning with bark, two men will tan and finish 4,000 sides of sole leather in one year. Their wages, at $30 per month, will be $720 ; the aides, in the raw and dry state, will weigh on an average, 11 lbs. per side, making .44,000 lbs. ; at *32 cents per lb., they will cost $14,080 ; they will consume 2V0 cords of oak bark, at $7 per cord, making |1,890'; i-entof tan-yard, $150, interest on hides, $844 80; interest on bark, iLvGooglf $113 40; whole cost when finished, is |17,V98 20. The 4,000 sides of leather win weigh on an average, 16 lbs. per side, making 64,000 lbs. At 32 cents per lb. they would bring $20,480, afford- ing a net gain of $2,681 80 for one year's tanning on the old system. ONE YEAK'b work BY THIS NEW PE0CE8S. Under this patented improved system of tanning, one man will tan and finish 4,000 sides in one year. At $30 per month, his wages will be $360 ; the sides will weigh on an average in the raw and dry state, 11 lbs. per side, making 44,000 lbs.; at 32 cents per lb. they win cost* $14,080 ; they will consume 135 "cords of bark at $V per cord, mak- ing $945, and chemicals to the amount of $600; rent of tan-yard, $150; the. interest on the hides for six months, will iLvGooglf INTRODUCTIOK. "be $422 40 ; the interest on the chemi- cals will he $18 ; the interest on the bark will be $38 35; making the whole cost of tanning 4,000 sides under this system, only $16,243 75. The weight of the 4,000 sides when finished, will be, on an average, 17 lbs. per side, making 68,000 lbs. of leather — a gain in weight of 4,000 lbs. over those tanned by the old method at 32 cents per lb.; —the whole woiild bring $21,760. The net gain is $5,516 25. Showing an advantage over the old method of tan- ning in one year, even on this limited scale, of $2,834 45 ; besides, the leather tanned by this proems has a brighter color, more the appearance of oak-tan- ned leather, and commands a higher price in the market. The above is a clear and accurate cal- culation of the cost of tanning, both with this process and the old method. iLvGooglf and the result makes its own appeal to the good sense of all who are anywise interested in the profits arising from leather. Tanners ! see yon not that if so much can be saved by applying this patent process to tanning on so diminu- tive a scale, that the ratio of profit would be vastly increased by employ- ing it on a more extended plan ? You are invited to investigate this matter. If, on examination, you find that a sub- stantial saving of even ten or fifteen per cent, can be made on a year's business by adopting this new process, you will not fail to see where your interest leads yon ; for ten per cent, over and above your accustomed profits would, in a few yeai's, secure for you an independent fortune. It is plain that the advantages of this mode of tanning, even to one who tans only sole leather on a small scale, are iLvGooglf very great; .and to those who find it difficult to obtain the usual quantity of bark, it will be invaluable. Where bark is plenty and can be obtained at a small cost, it also is valuable, for only, one-half the usual quantity of bark will be found necessary. By adoptiug this method then, the tanner who consumes 1,000 cords of bark per year, will re- quire only- 500 cords ; a saving at once of from |1,600 to $2,000 on bark alone, • in one year. A brief summary of the advantages of this patent process of tanning, may be stated thus : Hides or skins can be tanned at much less expense than by the usual method. Common size calf, sheep, goat, deer, or other similar skins, can be tanned in from four to twelve days, at an expense of from fifty cents to one dollar and fifty cents per dozen. Heavier leather. iLvGooglf INTRODTTCTION. such as kip, upper, bridle, skirting, hariiess, and sole leather, can "be tanned in from twenty to ninety days, with a. proportionate increase of expense, ac- cording to the thickness of the hide and strength of liquors used. The liquors used in this process are in all cases applied to the hides or skins, only in a cold state, and the leather manufactured by it has been found to possess more pliabihty, greater strength and durability, and a much larger in- crease of weight. It forms a finer tex- ture, and gives it a handsomer bloom, and consequently finishes much better ; thereby rendering it more impervious to water than leather tanned by the old method. The whole process can be learned by any tanner in a very short time. The apparatus and the different stages of the process of tanning, are the same iLvGooglf or similar to tlie -usual metliod ; but capable, in fitting a new establisbment, of being more compactly arranged, and at mucli less expense. It requires less room or space to carry on tlie business. Pai-ties wisbing to satisfy tbemselves oh any point named in tbis or any other cbapter of tbis work on wbicb it is proper to give general information, are invited to call on tbe patentee or bis agent, and examine the sys- tem in its practical operations, see tbe leather manufactured, and witness ex- periments wbicb tbey are prepared to make at any time, for tbe purpose of illustrating and corroborating tbe claims of tbis patent, for which letters were I on tbe .14th day of April, 1857. iLvGooglf iLvGooglf Ho^toi LvGooglf THE HIDES SUITABLE FOR TANNING. The liidea and skins retain their original name until they have been sub- . to the treatment of the various I they have to undergo before they become leather. The quality of leather depends not only upon the nature of the skin and the mode of tanning it, but upon the result of numerous minor details, which require especial care and attention. Skins from large cattle are best, provided they are not thin and flabby, for such will make iLvGooglf only inferior leather. Those from cattle slaughtered in the colder months give five per cent, moi'e leather than hides taken in summer. The nature of the food and state of the animal's health, also, have an influence upon the quality of the hide. For the production of forty pounds of ■ leather, there are required, on an average, twenty-five pounds of dry hide, fifty-six pounds of salted hide, or seventy pounds of marked hide. 1 Ayees hides are taken from the wild cattle which are run down by hunters. After being removed from iLvGooglf the carcass they are spread upon the ground, with the flesh side uppermost, and left exposed to the sun and air until dry. To prevent shrinking, the hides are kept stretched by means of wooden pegs driven through the corners into the earth. One of these cattle, a Spanish bul- lock of the largest size, is before repre- sented ; and also the natives or hunters in search of wild cattle are repi'esented by a wood engraving in front of this chapter. Brazilian hides are nearly all slaugh- tered in the ordinary manner. It 'would be greatly to the interest of the tanner, and would save him much annoyance, if all hides were imported in a green state : that is, merely salted ; for, when dry, it is very difficult even for the most experienced to detect many de- fects which would impair the quality of iLvGooglf the leather into which they are to be converted. The large ox hides are the onea chiefly used for conversion into sole leather ; for cow skins, though of denser structure, are rather too thin for this purpose, and are, therefore, reserved for making saddler's leather. This re- mark applies only to the hides of old cows that have repeatedly calved. These are weak and distended, but often tan well, and make good harness leather, and sometimes make a very good quality of upper leather. The iLvGooglf hides of heifers, or the contrary, are equal, if not supeiior, to those of oxen. Bull hides, on the other hand, are the least esteemed for making good leather, being thinner and more flabby than those of either oxen or cows. A well-fed, moderately-worked ox, when slaughtered in a healthy condi- tion, will naturally yield a hide of normal quality ; but if sick, lean, or deficient in hair at the time of being killed, then the hide is not adapted for making good leather. Should the ani- mal die suddenly by accident, without iLvGooglf "being in a diseased condition, the quality of the hide is not thereby impaired. The hides from unhealthy bullocks or horses present a decided difference from those of the same ani- mals slaughtered in a sound condition. This difference' is not distinguishable by any very evident characteristic, though it seldom escapes the sagacity of an experienced tanner. There are no definite rules for estimating the quality of hides. If a skin is free from any defects, and has sufficient strength and thickness, with body and firmness, then it may be presumed that it will tan well and make good leather. A skin presenting the opposite charac- teristics — that is, flabby, soft, thin, weak, and will not bear handHng — should not be considered reliable. These signs, how- ever, are not always unerring, for anom- alous cases frequently occur. Indeed, iLvGooglf it may sometimes happen that the hides from a diseased carcass, differing in appearance from the rest, will produce excellent leather. As the skins could not be kept any length of time in a fresh state without being injured by putrefaction ; and as it "would be impossible to transfer them as soon as slaughtered to the tan vats, they ai-e preserved unaltered by salting or drying them. The country butchers stretch them out in drying-lofts or in the shade, while those in the city gen- erally salt them. In the sale of unsalted green hides there are certain reprehensi- ble frauds which it is difficult to pro- vide against. For instance, not only are the horns, ears, and other less valua- ble parts left upon the skin, but some butchers, in oi-der still fui-ther to increase its weight, beds the animal before slaughtering in filth and mire, iLvGooglf HIDES SOITABLE and then, after skinning it, trail the hide on the dusty ground. Domestic, slaughtered, and heavy- hides are converted into sole, belt, and harness leather. The very largest ai-e selected and enameled for carriage tops. The smaller and lighter ones are used for skirting and bridle leather. In the old method they have to undergo a bleaching process, termed fair finish^ which is avoided in this process of tanning. The smaller hides are some- times converted into upper^ and also for enameling and japanning, termed patent leath&; when intended for shoes. The hides from the northern latitudes are preferable to those from the south. Hides from the extreme south are par- ticularly obj ectionable for conversion into leather. Those from California, when fi-ee from the defects caused by unskillful skinning, are of good quality, iLvGooglf and will tan. well and make good leather. 1 or Soutli American dry hides are generally converted into sole leather and occasionally into belt leather. Those imported in the green and salted state are sometimes made into upper leather, which Js of fair quality. African hides from the west coast make good uppers ; hut they are largely used in their raw state for covering hair trunks. Madagascar hides are good when perfect, which is rarely the case, as they are liable to injury during eming transit. The hides of the neat yearlings go into calf skins. Of these latter, there iLvGooglf are " patna " kips, and common calf for Ibookbinders. The patna kips are very inferior, though frequently sold as " Cal- cutta kips." Calcutta or Nagore Ca-itle.— These cattle grow to a veiy large size, and are used in India by the higher orders to draw their state carriages, and are much valued for their size, speed, and endur- ance, and sell at very high prices. They will travel, with a rider on their back, fifteen or sixteen hours a day, at the rate of six miles an hour. Their action is particularly fine. The Nagore cattle iLvGooglf bring their liind legs under them in as straight a line as the horse. They are very active, and can clear a five-barred gate with the greatest ease- Hides from Calcutta or Nagore cattle have the distinctive property of greater ■weight, and, when perfectly tanned, make a superior quality of leather. Tanners have undertaken to tan them, but failed in the experiment and pro- nounced the hides worthless. I, at one time, for an experiment, tanned six dozen of Calcutta tip skins, in the space of fourteen days, by this process of tanning ; and the leather pro- duced was of a very handsome quality. They were pronounced to be a superior article of leather by some of the best judges and most experienced leather manufacturers. One dozen of those skins were taken to the State fair in Pennsylvania, and were awarded the iLvGooglf )ES SUITABLE first premium for "being the best leather on exhibition. These kipa sold at an advance price of fifteen per cent, in the Philadelphia market. Hides from the largest of these cattle are "best suited for making good leather, being strong and heavy, provided they have not undergone any injury during the importation. A few kips come from South Amer- ica, and some from England and Ireland. The supplies of the tanneries ai-e mostly domestic skins. Calf Skins are valued in proportion to their strength and size, and, when properly tanned, make excellent leather iLvGooglf for boots and shoes, and also make supe- rior patent japanned (termed patent calf skin) leather for fine wear. The skins of young calves are sometimes converted into parchment. The French tanners, who are renowned for the excellence of their calf leather, use the skins taken from animals of five or six months of age. Those from calves of less than two months old are Very infe- rior, and only suitable for the manufac- ture of parchment. Calf skins tanned by this process have superior advantages over those tanned by the old method. I have fre- quently heard gentlemen say they wore a pair of calf-skin boots on their feet which were manufactured from leather tanned by this process, and that they have worn them every day for a period of four months, without overshoes, and their feet have not been damp once, iLvGooglf HIDES SUITABLE ^ thougli they liave repeatedly walked in the snow and sleet; and at present there is not the slightest appearance of cracking in the uppers, and the soles are apparently as good as the first day they put them on their feet. Calf-skins tanned by thk process possess more strength, have a finer texture, and pro- duce a handsomer grain ; are more pliable and durable, and more impervi- ous to moisture than when tanned bv the old methtd iLvGooglf HoESE Hides are tanned for uppers, and make good leather. They are also tanned for thongs, for sewing "belts, &c., and are the best material for that pur- pose. Horse hides make good leather for japanning and enameling purposes ; when well tanned and properly finished, make a superior leather for shoes and fancy mountings for ornaments of taste. Goat Skins, ■when tanned and cuiiied, are used for the uppers of ladies' ahces. Tanned in a particular manner and dyed with fancy colors, they constitute iLvGooglf Morocco or Turkey leather. The best goat skins come from Mexico, and are known in commerce as Tampico skins. The sound skins from the Cape of Good Hope are very large, and far superior to those from Madras and the Cape de Verds. Goat skins, when properly tanned and manufactured into good Morocco, make a superior leather for ladies' and gentlemen's wear, which is soft and pliable to the feet. Sheep Skihs, when tanned in the old way, make a spoogy, weak leather, used principally for lining and trank trim- mings. Saddlers and bookbinders also iLvGooglf use them largely. AVhen tanned "by this process, they can be curried and "blackened the same as calf skins ; and they win make a very good leather for light shoes, I have frequently tanned sheep skins "by this process, and finished them in the same manner as true Morocco. The results of the many experiments prove to our fullest Batisfaction, that sheep skins, when tanned and finished in this way, have many advantages over the old method of tanning leather: they are finer, more pliable and durable, and more impervious to moisture ; and, when manufactured into boots and shoes for Summer wear, they give full satisfaction to all who will give them a fair trial. iLvGooglf ' -3^^-^ Dbee Skittb, when tanned and fin- islied in a proper manner, are used for tlie nppera of slioes ; and, when finished in a particular way, make a superior leather for many purposes. By tawing, they are converted into chamois or wash leather, which is also made from goat skin. Leather is differently designated in commerce, according to the use for which it is intended. For example: harness leather is blackened on the grain ; russet is fair finished leather ; wax leather is blackened on the flesh iLvGooglf side; and buff is tliat witli the grain divided by careful shaving, and black- ened on the grain side. Tbere 'are vari- ous methods of manufacturing patent leather which I will not describe mi- nutely. Mode or Salting Hxdib. — ^This meth- od consists in laying open the bide upon the ground and sprinkling the flesh sides with salt, more liberally at the edges and spinal portions than on other parts. They are then folded or doubled lengthwise down the center ; the remaining folds are made over each other, commencing with the shank, then the peak of the belly upon the back, afterward the head upon the tail part, and the tail part' upon the head; and lastly, by doubling the whole with a final fold and forming a square of one or two feet. This being done, they are then piled three and three together, and iLvGooglf HIDES SUITABLE I left until the salt has dissolved and penetrated their tissue, which generally requires two or three days. Thus pre- pared, they are sent to market. Skins may he dried, even after having been salted, "by stretching them upon poles, with the fiesh side uppermost, and ex- posing them to dry air in a shady place. Ten pounds of salt in summer, and some- what less in winter, are requisite for each skin of ordinary size. iLvGooglf iLvGooglf Ho^toi LvGooglf CHAPTER HI. COMPOSITION OF THE SKIN. TnE skin of animals consists of an ex- terior covering, the q>idermis, or GuMde, under whicli ia a thin stratum of a pe- culiar suhstance, called by anatomistsj rete mucosmn, which lies immediately upon the cutis cormm dermis, or true sMn. The epidermis varies in thickness on different parts of the body ; it is little prone to decomposition, insoluble in water, in alcohol, and dilute acids. Concentrated nitric and sulphuric acids soften and ultimately di^olve it. The iLvGooglf 60 COMPOSITION OF caustic fixed alkalies dissolve it even wlien considerably diluted, but not the carbonated alkalies. It is stained by several substances, so far indelibly that the color remains till tlie cntiele peels off. It does not combine with tannin. Corns, and similar induration, resemble tbe epidermis in their general chemical characters; and horn, hoof, calves' feet, cows' heels, sheep's trotters, pigs' petitoes, nails, claws, tortoise shell, hair, wool, feathers, and scal^ may be regarded as modifications of it. All these substances partake more or less of the character of dry albumen, and Hatehett's researches have shown that the analogies between them are, in many cases, only broken by the presence of foreign substances. The general color of the surface of the body resides in the rete mucosum, the tint of which is much dependent upon the influence of light. iLvGooglf The black skin of the African, the brown of the Asiatic and Ameiican, and the pinkish-white of the European, derive their color from this peculiar secretion deposited between the cutis and cuticle. The nature of this sub- stance has not been chemically investi- gated, but it has been ascertained, in regard to the black of the negro, that it admits of beuig bleached by chlorine. The cutis or true skin is of a fibrous texture, and, when boiled in water, is to a great extent soluble, leaving the vas- cular and nervous filaments which per- vade it. The solution, when slowly evaporated, leaves gelatine, which is the principal and characteristic component of the cutis. The skins of animals con- sist of fibrine, gelatine, and small por- tions of albumen and fatty matter. The first two form, as it were, the basis or net-work of the whole tissue, a portion iLvGooglf COMPOSITION < of wliicli, if boiled witk water, yields its gelatine, whUe tlie flbrlne remains. The epidermis of the skin does not com- bine with tannin. The properties of these substances, which play such an important pai-t in tanning, are as fol- lows : Fibrine is one of the immediate and most abundant principles in animals. It exists in the chyle and blood, and is the basis of muscle ; it is a white, taste- less, inodorons solid, heavier than water, soft, slightly elastic, and without action upon litmus. Fibriue loses four fifths of its weight by drying, and becomes yel- lowish, hard, and brittle, but regains much of its original appearance by soak- ing in water. It is insoluble in cold water, and hardens without dissolving in hot water, but is modified in its com- position and properties. When left in contact with cold water for several days, decomposition, acconjpanied by a cheesey iLvGooglf appearance, ensues. Dilute aulphuric acid shrivels flesh fibrine, and ultimately combines with it, forming a jelly soluble in water. Dry ftbrine ie changed by strong acid into a yellow, gelatmoua ma^, without being dissolved. If the acid be very dilute, the fibrine swells and becomes gelatinous. Concentrated acetic acid rapidly gelatinizes fibrine and renders it soluble in hot water. Tannin precipitates it from both its acid and alkahne solutions, and, when fresh fibrine is immersed in a solution of tan- nin, it becomes, on drying, tough, hard, and imputrescible. Gluten is the prin- cipal component of glue, and prepared in a pure state by soaking the latter repeatedly in quantities of fresh water until all soluble matters are removed, and by then boiling and straming the residue. Gelatine is colorless, or yellow- ish, transparent, tasteless, and inodorous. iLvGooglf OOMPOBITIOIT OF It does not lose its transparency ty dry- ing, bnt teeomes liard, brittle, and horny. It softens and swells, and very slightly dissolves in cold water, but is very soluble in hot water, from which alcohol precipitates it. Repeated and successive boiling and cooling of its aqueous solution impairs its gelatinizing property. The characteristic property of gelatine is that of combining with tannin and forming a grayish, glutinous, elastic compound, which, upon drying, becomes unalterable and imputrescible in water, and forms the basis of leather. The mutual affinity of these two sub- stances is so strong that the latter will precipitate the former from a solution containmg as little as one part in five thousand parts of water. Gelatine does not exist exactly as such in skins, and therefore leather, (a compound of gela- tinous tissue and tannin,) though very iLvGooglf analogous to, is not strictly identical with, this elastic precipitate of tanno- gelatine, which is slightly soluble in water, and becomes brittle on drying. Mulder, who has examined the sub- ject, says there are two definite com- pounds of tannin with gelatine. For example, when a solution of pure gela- tine is mixed with one containing a great excess of tannin, the resulting precip- itate, which is white and curdy, and becomes reddish-brown, hard, and brit- tle on drying, consists of one equivalent of tannic acid and one of gelatine. This is the neutral compound. If, however, the tannin be not added in excess, then the compound will contain three equiva^ lents of gelatine and two of tannic acid. Earthy and metallic salts, throw down double compounds, one with acid and another with metallic oxide, the latter of which is wholly insoluble while the iLvGooglf coMPOSiTioir ( former is not entirely so. Taniiia pre- cipitates albmninous solutions, but tlie resulting compound is not softened "by heat, like the tanno^elatine. Tannic acid combines with animal gelatine, forming an insoluble curdy precipitate. A piece of prepared skin introduced into a solution of tannic acid absorbs the acid and is converted into leather. A hide is composed of gluten. Leather and gluten are two veiy dif- ferent and distinct substances. Leather is formed by a chemical action. The affinity of tannin and gluten is very great, and by the combination of these two substances we produce leather. This apparently compact mass of gluten, called green hide, is composed of mil- lions of minute cellular fibr^, inter- woven and running in eveiy conceivable direction, forming a strong network. iLvGooglf iLvGooglf .X.oogic CHAPTER IV. WASHING AND SOAKING THE HIDES. In order to prepare the raw hides for the action of the tanning materials, it is necessary to subject them to several pre- limiDary operations. Th^e consist in washing and soaMng, liming or nnhair- Hlde Mill oh Fulukg Stooks, and Washino Machink. — These maehineB are employed for the purpose of softening and waehing the filthy matt«p from the hides, and thus, by brii^iDg them as nearly ae possible to the fresh state of the skins when first taken from the oareass, to facilitate the after prooess of depilation and tanning. The hides, with the hair on, are firet eoaked in cold water for twenty- four hours, or longer if necessary, and are then suhjeoted to tlie action of the hide mill for an hour, which time is generally suffieient to render them pliable. Eight or iLvGoOglf ing, and bating. Washing and soaking tlie hides is the first operation they most undergo, and it is therefore a great con- venience to have the tannery located upon or near to a stream or running spring, with an abundance of water. The skins are taken in a green, dry, or salted state. The green hides are these from recently slaughtered animals. They ai-e placed m the pool of water and left to soak for half a day, or longer if necessary, for the removal of blood and adhering dirt. If the skins are not very dirty, an hour is sufficient. If it should be necessary to soak them for a twelve aWnB, aoeovding to their size and t teeiteraUy put in the machine at once. A small stream of olean water is allowed to run into the apparatus upon the hides; and the washings, or dirty, filthy matter contained in them, is allowed to drain off at the bottom of the ma- chine. This meOiod of preparing the skins foi- the liming and tanning prooesses diapenaes with the laborions tnaiii- pulationa to which they are commonly snhjeoted, and lerves their quality— not injured as they were in the way by the hands of the workmen. It also presents iLvGoOglf ■ time, they must be handled or moved about at frequent intervals. Dry hides necessarily require a longer soak- ing, and, to expedite the operation, it is necessary to remove them from the water and subject them to the fulling stocks or mill frequently. If there is no hide mill in the tannery, they must be stretched upon the wooden horse and scraped downwards with a fleshing knife. The fleshing should be repeated once or twice. The washing and scraping must be continued until all the slimy and other animal matters which are prone to puti'efafition are removed. No definite the additional advantage of not requiring a long ejtposTire to the action of lime, which is'so apt to injure their tiasue. ■ After the hides remain a saffieieut length of time in the lime, the hair is removed by the workmen, and then sub* jeeted to the ■washing machine for the purpose of washing out the lime, which is accomplished in a very short apace of time. The skins are then taken U> the wooden horse and fleshed by the wortmen. They are then placed in the hide mill and beaten in tlie same manner as before for an hour or so, ■wflsbed and rinsed in a pool of clean water, iLvGoOglf WASHING AND lengtli of time can be prescribed for the soaking of tbe skins ; they are to re- main in the water until they have become supple, and the intelligence of the -workman must determine when this point is attained. If this work is done by the aid of a fulling, or hide mill, as it is termed, it can be accompHshed in one-tenth of both time and labor. If the soaking should be prolonged, the hides wUl acquire a tendency to putrefy. "When the skins have been all soaked and washed as above directed, and are sufficiently supple, they are returned to and left in the water for a short time, and then, placed upon a truck cai' and conveyed to the tan pits, and there deported in a weak solution of tannin liquor. A deaeviption. of this machine, for the fulling of both small and large skins, is represented on the left end of the ei^raving in front of this chapter, giving an angle elevation. The trough in whieh the akine are placed is six feet long, three wide, and two deep in tba clear, with a concave bottom. The end presents a quarter circle, against which the hides are beaten. The mallets or ham- mers are two and a half feet long on the under aide, and iLvGoOglf THE HIDES. (five or six hours.) Some attention must always "be given to the nature of the "water, the size of the hides, and tem- perature of the atmosphere. It must he remembered that a too long contin- ued soaking in the same water exposes the skins to the danger of putrefaction ; and the rapidity of this decomposition is proportional to the amount of filthy, foreign matter contained in the water. If the hides are subjected to the fulling stocks, or hide mill, as it is termed, and worked for a short time with judicious care, and having a small stream of clean soft water running in at one aod a Iialf on the top side, one and a half feet deep, and one and a half thick, with grooved east-iron plates fastened to each end of the mallets, supported by two npright levers ten feet long, the lower end mortised in the center of the hammers, and fastened at the top of the frame by a bolt of iron and wedges, bo as to mtilie the hammers perform their work correctly and prevent them from swaying ont of plaee. The whole fi-anie and size of the machine is twelve feet long, four feet wide, and ten fact higii. The hide mill can be driven by water or steam iLvGoOglf one end of tlie mill on the skins, while the dirty, filthy matter .contained in them is washed out at the other end, skins thns treated can be softened and washed out completely in a very short time. This operation of treating the hides is represented by a wood engrav- ing in front of this chapter. By this method, one man can cleanse a thousand hides in the short space of twelve hours. The hides which have been well salted, but not dried, can be cleansed in a very short time in the same way as aforesaid. These manipalations are ne- ;■ not only for removing salt and power. There are two pitmenta— the eud of one being attaohad to the upright levers, about three feet from the bottom, and the other end attaohed to a oast-iron crank, each arm of the crank being ten inches in lengtb, the two cranks forming a circle of about twenty inches in diam- eter, giying the mallets about a thirty-inch, stroke upon tbe hicieB, driven at the rate of about eighty or one hun- dred strokcB to the minute. A band or cog-wheel is attaolied to one ead ot the shaft when driven by power. iLvGoOglf dirt, but also for rendering them soft and supple. When they are taken from the -water for the last time, the rinsing must be vigorous and thorough. Some manufacturers contend that the quality of the leather is improved in proportion to the duration of the time of soaking the skin. It is still undeniar ble that, when it exceeds a certain time, the skin acquires a tendency to decompo- sition, and the quality of the leather is thus impaired. It is a mooted point whether the nature of the water used for soaking has any influence upon the quality of the leather. From a Washino MiCHiBE.— Thi m li' is repreaanted on the right end of the eng g It f m and size are in the shape of a drum, fir i t ui d am t r and six feat long, closed up at each e i w th t p d or in the front end for the pnrposa of j aBsmg th 1. n and out A pipe is BO arranged in th te f th sber as to allow a small Btraam of clea w te t p upon the hides, and smiill holes are made around the edge of the front end to Jet the dirty water pass out^ with pluga to stop the holes iLvGoOglf practical knowledge on this point, we will not take tlie affirmative side of the question. It is undeniable that the leather known as calf skin, upper, tfec, and which, by its very nature and des- tined use, should be soft and supple, requires a soft, fresh, running water, and, consequently, that it will be diffi- cult to make them so with hard water. Rain water is the purest, but all drinka^ ble waters are applicable for tanning purposes. Tanneries that cannot obtain soft water can have the softness im- parted to it by infiltrating it through spent tan. For this purpose there is a and moke die waaher perfectly water-tight. The inside surface of the maohine is set full of small wooden pins, one inch thiot, about four inohes long, and about foul- inches apart, for the purpose of eatchirg the siins, raising them up, and, in falling, changes them in Tarioua positions, A six-inch wooden shaft plaeed through the center of the washer, set upon a frame erected for that purpose, with a cog-wheel and other gearing attached to it, so as to run the machine at the rate of twenty rcTolutions to the min- iLvGoOglf aeries of three vats charged similarly with spent tan, and, aa the water which is poured into the first vat is drawn through a cock at the bottom, it is trans- ferred to the second, and, ultimately, to the third vat. In this manner all kinds of water may be rendered available for tanning, as, thus rectified, it contains a little tannin derived from the spent tan, which renders it particularly adapted for the early part of the tanning opera- tion. Experience certainly proves the superiority of some watei-s over others for tanning purposes, but on what par- ticular quality of the water this superi- ute. If the washer ia allowed to run any faster it will not do the work ao well. When skina are tanned suffi- oiently to bo akived, Ihey are taken from the tun liquor and auhjeeted to the machine for a short time, which washea them out completely. After skiving, they are again placed in the waaher for a short time, wliieh much facilitates and hastena the prooeas of tanning. Either of theae machines will perform work much more rapidly and satisfaotorily than any other machine now in iLvGoOglf ) SOAKING THE HIDE a. ority depends I liave not yet been able to determine. Tlie safest course is to prefer those waters which contain the least soluble matter, particularly earthy matters, for they certainly reduce the tanning power of the ooze by combining with some of its constituents. exiatenoe, or than it was formaclr done by tlie tedious and laborions prooeaees practised in early days. The expense of bniWing these maehines ia about thirty dollars each. In the foreground of the engraving ia the representation of a railroad and truck oar loaded with hides. This road and ear ia for the purpose of conveying stock through to the different parts and places in the tannery. This, how- eTer, will he more fully espWned hereafter. iLvGoOglf iLvGooglf wCoogIc COMPOSITION FOR UNHAIRING. The second process to which hides are to be subjected is termed ■wwAa^W-By, and is that by which the pores are dis- tended, the fibres swollen, and the hair loosened. These results are effected by means of alkaline or acid solutions, and by fermentation. Milk of lime is the Beam IIoi^e. — This room, eomea next to the apartment for waahing and soiikiDg the hides. The beam house ia the grand starting point for the raannfaoture of good leather. It depends entirely upon this operatioc for faoilitating and hastening tlie prooess of tanning. To secure this desirable result they must be perfectly cleaned, seraped, and rinsed iLvGoOglf COMPOSITION B alkaline liquor generally employed, liime water has been proposed as a sub- stitute, but it is less permanent in its action and require frequent renewal in order to insure the perfect cleansing of the hides. After the hides have been sufficiently soaked, or, in other words, sufficiently prepared to receive limes or to be unhaired, I then introduce Compo- sition No, 1 for the pui-pose of remov- ing hair or wool, or for the purpose of liming, as it is called, instead of using lime as in the old way. Lime has been used alone for the pur- pose of ' removing hair, wool, grease, mucus, and other impurities from the skins.. Lime alone requires before being allowed to entar the haDdli Eg house for the fie tanning liquor. My tannety is two hundred and f ty f et in length and forty feet in width, with a ra 1 oad nning through the center from oaa en3 to the othe The room or apartment ocoupied for Boakicg, soften ng and washing the hides oomea first, and the next iLvGoOglf COMPOSITION I days, and, in oold weatBer, weeks to effect these several objects ; so that the muscular fibre of the hides is always more or le^ injured. When the compo- sition is combined in proper proportions it modifies the action of the alkalies and protects the skins, so that the process of unhairing and liming are both rendered more expeditious, the hides are made much softer than by the old method of liming, their texture is uninjured, and, consequently, the leather is much stronger. The skins may be prepared for the bating and tanning processes after the usual method ; but I prefer and use the following ingredients, which I shall denominate— ia the unhairing apartmenL This latter operation and the apartment are repreaented by a wood engraviDg in front of thia chapter. The center of the engraving represents a railroad, on which a truok oar ia coming in from the wash and BOak room loaded with hides ready to receive the action of the lime. On the right end of the engraving iLvGoOglf 84 COMPOSITION FOR UNHAIRINCI. COMPOSITIOB" No. 1. Ist^ 2d, __ „ _., 3d, _ _ „_ This composition (No. 1) must be mixed in about the consistency of white- wash, with a sufficient quantity of water in the vat to immerse the number of hides proposed to be unbailed. The lime vats are placed along one side of the beam-house, each vat containing a paddle-wheel operating on the upper portion of the unhairing liquor, while the hides being handled are entirely loose and free in the vat, and move in is represented five lime Tats, with paddle-wheels for the purpose of handling the hides and agitating the DDhaJricg iiqnor. Ths first wheel is represented as being in full motion, stirring up the liquor in plaee of the old tedious method of handling by hand. These lime pits are eight feet long, five feet wide, and six feet deep, wiOi a couoaye iLvGoOglf COMPOSITION EOR TJNHAIEING. 85 an opposite direction to that of the wheel. A gentle and yet effectual .mo- tion is given to the skins and licpior 'by means of the wheel. When the compo- sition is prepared in the vat, the hides are thrown in and kept agitated at fre- qnent intervals by running the wheels a few minute at a time, say once every half hour, or once every two or three hours, as the case may require. This operation of nnhairing the hides, and also the vats containing the wheels, are represented by a wood engraving in front of this chapter. Although the management of process No. 1 is the same as the usual method, the skins must be handled or agitated. bottom, for the purpose of making an easy reyolution of the hides and liquor by the action of the wheels. These wheels are made in the form of tbe paddle-wheel iiaed by steamboats, and are four aud a half feet long, and five feet in diameter, or fifteen feet in dreumference, each being geared independent of the other, with three cog-wheels. iLvGoOglf FOR UNH AIRING. and closely attended to, as has been be- fore observed. This composition for unhairing may be conducted at a tem- perature of summer heat, and the object may be accomplished much sooner than by any other process. One bushel of No. 1 mixture is about eq^uivalent to one and a half bushels of good fresh- slacked lime. The second ingredient may be substi- tuted by eight pounds of _ _ which will answer the same purpose. No, 1 process must be conducted with the greatest care and judgment, and should be kept at a mild temperature, and in a very short time the hides will be ready to unhair with- two large wheelfl, and one small one. The Bmall -wheel is attacted to an iron shaft running over the top of the pad- dle-wheels, with an icon lever attached to the small wheel for the purpose of aliding aolutch, bywhiali the workman can run any of the wheels at the earoe time, On the left end of the engraving are four woi-kmen. represented at iLvGoOglf out the least injury to tlie skins. After tlie hair is completely removed, the hides are put in the mill and milled a slioi't time for the purpose of washing or cleaning them, which gives the skins thorough rinsing, and leaves them in a fine condition for the bate or the tanning process. I will add, according to my experience in unhairing and tanning, there are certain drawbacks in the liming process, when limed in the old way, which are worthy of enumeration. FivsQ/tj^ The contact of caustic lime alters, more or leas, the texture of the hide, and permits it to penetrate the pores, and remain in them in the state of caustic lime or lime soap. work, depriving the hides of their hair, standing upon a platform extending from the wall half orer the jiuul, the whole platform being about ten feet wide, with the back end two feet higher than the front side, giving sufficient fall for the dirtjvater disebarged from the ekms to run off. The workioaD stands with his bael to the pool, nnd iLvGoOglf FOR UNH AIRING. SecoTuUy, The repeated rinsings in water and workings only partially re- move the lime, which is a serious imped- iment to perfect tanning. Thirdly^ It hinders the ready pene- tration of the tanning liquor, and the perfect combination of tannin with the skin, and so obstinately resists removal during all the manipulation that a por- tion of it is found even in the best of leather. Notwithstanding that my ex- perience is so opposed to the use of lime, the careful and elaborate experiments of Dr. Davy, chemist, show that its action upon animal textures generally is rather antiseptic than destructive. The disad- vantages of the use of lime have led to operates facing the light. In this position Ue can draw a hide from the pool and place it on the wooden hocae, ready to be operated oa, without moving from Ms truck, thus BToiding the old method of walking around the horaa and drawing the hides up, which gives the -workioBn double labor. After this manipulation is completed, the skins are iLvGoOglf the sulostitiition of 1 ess obj ectionable agents, which are set forth in this chap- ter. The advantages derived to hides by these substitutions for unhairing are superior to any other process, according to my judgment, and is acknowledged to be a fixed fact by all those who have used it. The skins immersed in this liquor swell out considerably, and are ready to be scraped in a very short time. Moreover, the -alkali fonning soluble soap, with the fatty portions, facilitates the cleansing and produces a smoother- grained side than is done in the common way. Hides thus prepared will imbibe the tanning liquor more rapidly, and the entire processes can be accomplished in one-third of the usual time. After this. throws njjon the truck and taken to the fuUiug stocks and waaher, and espoaed to the action of thoae two maohioea for a short time. When thoroughly cleaneed, they are- again placed upon the truck and carried to the handling- houae for the action of the tanning ooze. iLvGoOglf 90 COMPOSITION FOB UNHAIM1T&, mode of preparing the skins, they may be subjected to the tanning withoiit addi- tional process of bating, and there will be a ilrm, solid article produced. If the tanner wishes to make a soft, mUd, and pliable leather, it must be subjected to the bate for a few hours, which will be set forth in the succeeding chapter. iLvGooglf CHAPTER VI. These leading manipulations ai-e mod- ified to suit certain kinds of skins ; and some undergo an additional treatiiient, termed ' Tjating, to remove lime and otherwise promote the thorough union of the tan material and gelatinous structure. The bate consists of a liquor made from the dung of dom^tic fowls ; and immei-sions in this mixture remove the lini^and reduce the skins to their original^ickness. It acts by means of muriate"$f ammonia, which it contains. iLvGooglf This salt is decomposed by the unhairing process, which drives off its base, the ammonia, and, taking up with the mu- riatic acid, then becomes soluble muriate of lime, and passes off with the rinse water. When limed in the old way with lime alone, it carries with it at the same time a portion of the gelatine, ren- dered soluble by putrefaction of the organic matter of the bate, which un- doubtedly occurs. If the hides ai'e unhaired by the aid of composition No. 1, there will be no loss of gelatme in the application of the process ; for, by bating, it will be entirely preserved from all putrefaction. The bating pro- cess can be conducted at the temperature of summer heat. This, however, must be attended to with the greatest care and judgment on the part of the work- man, and will render the hides highly susceptible of being quickly tanned. iLvGooglf iLvGooglf Ho^toi LvGooglf CHAPTER VII. PROPERTIES OF TIIE INGKEDIENTS EM- PLOYED IN THE COMPOSITION FOR TANNING. Chemistey is that branch, of natural knowledge which teaches us the proper- ties of the elementary substances, and of their mutual combinations. It in- quires into the laws which affect and into the powers which preside over their union ; it examines the proportions in which they combine and the modes of separating them when combined, and endeavors to apply such knowledge to the explication of natural phenomena iLvGooglf INGBEDIBNTS FOR and to useM puiposes in the different arts of life. It is my intention, in this introductory chapter, to make a brief allusion to the style of these ingredients, used in this process for the manufacture of leather, when they are duly prepared in the proper proportions. The union of these ingi-edients with tannin facilitates the process of tanning, and produces the desired effect upon the article manu- factured. There are many vegetable substances containing a principle which confers upon them an astringent taste, and which has the property of foi-ming a superior tanning liquor. Chemistry .is that science which treats of those events or changes in natural bodies which are not accompanied by sensible motions. Most of the sub- stances belonging to our globe are con- stantly undergoing alterations in s iLvGooglf TNeiCBDIBNTS FOE qualities, and one variety of matter becomes, as it were, transmuted into another, Sueh clianges, whether nat- ural or artificial, whether slowly or rapidly performed, are called chemical. Thus, the gradual and almost impercepti- ble decay of the leaves and branches of a falleji tree exposed to the atmosphere, and the rapid combustion of wood in our fires, are both chemical operations. The object of chemical philosophy is to ascertain the causes of all phenomena of this kind, and to discover the laws by which they are governed. As induc- tion from experiment is exclusively the basis of chemical science, little progress could be made in it till the futility of the ancient philosophical systems had been shown and their influence annihi- lated, tUl the true end of science was rightly defined and the road to it ren- dered straight and passable, till the iLvGooglf INGREDIENTS I necessity of well-digested experiment had been established, which first pro- cures the light, then shows the way by its means. The conversion of hides into leather is wholly a chemical process. Hides and skins may be converted into leather more perfectly by the combina- tion of those different chemicals, ingre- dients, and tanning liquors manufactured from oak barks. By this combination a. gi'eater amount of tannin is concentrated in a smaller quantity of materials, and much less labor is required than in the old method. These ingredients, when combined in proper proportions, make a superior tanning agent for the mannfac- ture of all kinds of leather. This com- position consists of five different, distinct substances. In the succeeding chapter will be given a correct description of and the proper proportions for manufacturing and applying this composition to the iLvGooglf INGREDIENie FOR TANNING. 99 hides. In tlie first place, as far as my knowledge will permit, I will endeavor to give the properties of the ingredients adapted to Com^osiUon JVb. 2, chapter viii,, and their effects upon the hides and skins, and the purposes nsed for making the different kinds of leather. The tan- ner will observe that the ingredients are not all applied at the same time ; but let him use them as directed, and he will not fail to produce the desired article of leather. Those ingredients are employed at different intervals and at different 3 of the process of tanning : , I use the first ingredient for the tanning properties it possesses. The tannin can be obtained from different sources. Its properties, however, differ materially in some of their character- istics. The tannin possessed by this article has superior tanning properties : one pound of it is equivalent to ten iLvGooglf IKGBEDIBNTS I pounds of either oak or temlock bark, "besides containing pure tannin, and a small quantity of gallic acid and modified tannin, in the state whicli is generally designated by the name Motractive j and, lastly, a combination of tannin whicli is soluble in cold water, and more particularly in hot water, and produces a stronger liquor with the combination of chemicals, which unites dissimilar bodies into a uniform compound and . tanning liquor that cannot be This article can be procured in abundance at the small price of from two to Ave dolIai« per one hundred pounds. I used the "iecond article for iLvGooglf INORBltlENTS I its brightening qualities. I do not, thei'e- fore, use it for any tanning properties, for it contains no tannin. It gives the leather that very bright hue which we term bloom, which makes a very hand- some, durable, and saleable color. Thie ingredient is prepared on a large scale for calico piinters. It has a cooling, saline, and bitter taste. When recently prepared it is beautifully transparent, but by exposure to the air it effloresces and the ciystals become covered with an opaque white powder. By long ex- posure it undergoes complete efflores- cence, and falls to powder with the loss of more than one-half its weight. It is soluble in three times its weight of cold water, and in its own weight of boiling water, but insoluble in. alcohol; sub- jected to heat, it dissolves in its water of crystallization, then dries, and afterward, by the application of a red .heat, melts, iLvGooglf IHGEUEDISNTS fOB with the loss of fifty-five and a half per cent, of its .weight. It has no injurious or offensive properties, for it was for- merly used as a medicine. At the pres- ent time, immense quantiti^ of this article are manufactured in all paj'ts of the -world, and can be procured at the small cost of one cent per pound. TJbwdly^ I use the third article for the purpose herein set forth : it induces a more rapid action of the tannin upon the skin. This ingi-edient, when used in proper proportions, unites more forcibly, and adds materially to the quality of the leather, and makes it more pliant and durable, which is the great object in tanning. This article is largely manufactured in all parts of the world, and is used for various purposes. Its cost is about sis cents per pound, and it dissolves readily in boiling water. iLvGooglf INGREDIENTS FOR TANNING. Fowrihl/y, The fourth ingredient is used for softening the hides, and expe- diting the proce^ of unhairing, and rendering them more supple for the tanning process, and also for keeping the skins in a fine condition while the tanning is going on, by keeping the pores open for the tannin to penetrate through the network of the hide, thus forming leather more perfectly and expeditiously. If the skins are hard and harsh, the harsh- ness can be removed by the use of this article. It may be used freely without injuring the hides, as I have found it of iLvGooglf [KGRBDIBNTS I eeaential use in raising the skins in the tanning process, and preparing them without injury for speedy and safe tanning. This article is manufactured on a very large scale both in Europe and America, and is used for various purpmes. It has no injurious or offens- ive properties, and can be procured in abundance at one and three-quarter cents per pound, and dissolves readily in boiling water. FiftJih), The fifth ingredient pos- a small portion of tannin, and sweetish, astringent taste. Care must be taken and not use too much at a time. When used too freely it gives the leather an olive hue, which is not a very desirable color. Its expanding properties are very great, and act freely upon the pores of the skin; therefore the proper proportions must be strictly observed, or the effects iLvGooglf will undoubtedly be injurious to the leatlier. It dissolves in fourteen times its weight in cold water, and in its own weight of boiling water. It is manufactured in almost all parts of the world, and is used for various purposes, and can be obtained at two and a half cents per pound. There are many other ingredients of similar properties that will answer very nearly the same purpose ; but, upon experimenting with various kinds of chemicals, I could not find any that would answer for the tanning of leather but those I have adopted, and they answer the purpose in every respect. The reader will observe that the names of the ingredients are not given in this chapter, but they will be designated by being numbered in this and also in the succeeding chapters. iLvGooglf iLvGooglf iLvGooglf Ho^toi LvGooglf CHAPTER Vm. COMPOSITION FOE TANNING. This process is applicable to the tan- ning of all kinds of hides, and to making the different kinds of leather. The proper proportions of the ingre- dients must be etrictly observed in all eases. In preparing the following ma^ terials, the operator should use scales, and weigh them out correctly, as repre- sented by the wood engraving in front of this chapter. Caution should always be obsei-ved to have the proper prep- arations. I will here give the correct iLvGooglf OOMPOSIl'ION proportions of the materiala for the tan- nin'' of one hundred common-sized calf- skins, or any other like skins. The example of tanning the above skins will te given hereafter. In mixing these articles, the operator must he careful that he has the correct proportions, as it will depend entirely upon the manage- ment and skill of the workman in pre- paring these ingredients to produce a superior quahty of leather, which wiU, undoubtedly, be the case when the pro- cess is correctly managed. Composition No. 2. 1st, 2d,.... 3d, «h, 6th,.,. iL.,Googlf The ingredients of number one must be dissolved, separately, in liot water ; or, hot bark-liquor is preferable. After they are dissolved, put them iuto a vat or tub, or whatever it may be. If the liquor is not siifficient to cover the amount of skins proposed to be tanned, bark liquor may be used to fill up the vat or tub, to make the liquor cover the hides. There should, in all cases, be suf- ficient in, but not so as to lie crowded or in a compact state. The skins mast have a sufficient quantity of liquor on them, so as to lie loose, and let the tannin have a chance to search through the network and fibres of the skins, which is one of the most important parts of tanning. When they are once plumped, we ought, at least, to keep them in that state, and allow them to come in contact with the tannin gradually, as they are frequently handled or agitated in the liquor. The iLvGooglf COMPOSITION ] Spent liquor or water that remams in tlie pores of the hides, which has caused them to plump, by filling up every pore and cavity among the fibres of the skins, will retain its place, and will keep them in fine condition, just as they should be, until it is forced to ^ve way to the tannin, which takes the place of the spent liquor, and gradually unites with the gelatin and forme leather. Hides should be handled in cold, weak liquor, particularly the first application of the skm to the liquor, for a day or two. The effects of the first application of liquor that is too strong, and too warm, to green hides is very injurious. It contracts the surface fibres of the skin, tanning at once the external layers so dead as to shut up the pores and pre- vent the tannin from penetrating the interior portions of the hide. This ren- ders the leather harsh and brittle. The iLvGooglf COMPOSITION FOR liquor should also be kept as cool as possible, witli certain limits, but ougbt never to exceed a temperature of eighty degrees ; in fact, a much lower tempera^ ture is the maximum point, if the liquor 18 very strong ; too high a heat with a liquor too strongly charged with the tanning principle, being invariably in- jurious to the life and color of the leather. The first application of the liquor should not exceed, in strength, Kyiirouetkr. — A Hydrometer is a conven- ient apparatus for aaoertaining readily tlie density or atrcngth of liqnors. Tliat refer- red to above has been styled by its mal;er (W Pike, of the city of New York), a Bark- oineter, beeanse it is specially adapted to testing the strength of bark liquors. Its form and tlie manner of neing it are represented I by a small wood- en graving on this page ; and s made wholly. of glass; a, d, being the I stem, inclosing a graduated paper scale; B, I spherical bubble ; and O, a small bubble it Its base, containing quioksilyer or shot, II whigh serves as ballast to retain the instru- t in. a vertical position in the liquid. The scale on the stem is equally divided into iLvGoOglf coMVOsmoN 1 more than one or two per cent, by W. Pike's Barkometer, whick is specially adapted to testing the strengtk of "bark liquors. Strong liquor must invariably be avoided in the first application. On the other hand, a too weak solution, in the latter stage of tanning, must be avoided. " In the latter stage, the liquor may be used as strong as it can be made, without injury to the leather. I have used it as high as fifty per cent. The weight, in leather, is made by keeping it in good strong liquor, and giving it close attention. In order to produce , heavy weights, the hides should not be reduced too low in the beam-house, and should be tanned quickly, with good fire or ten wide spaces, and each of theae again Bubdivided into ten narrow spaces; the zero point of the ecule ia mfl^e by plunging the instrument into distiUed water, at 68 degrees F., and adding nieroucy to the bubble until it wnkg to nearly the top ot the stem a. A solution of ten parts of bark in ninety parts of distilled water having iLvGoOglf COMPOSITION FOR strong liquors, particularly in the latter stage of the operation ; green hides in particular. Nothing can he more in- jurious than to suffer them to remain too long in weak Hquors. It will, from this, he seen that in the question of the proper strength of liquors alone, there is room for the exercise of the greatest judgment and the most extensive experi- ence. In very many cases, nothing can he depended upon hut the judgment of the practical tanner. In softening hides and preparing them for the process of tanning, a gireat deal also depends upon the judgment of the peraon superintend- ing this operation; inasmuch as the diversities in the qualities and charac- been mada, the hydrometer is then plunged in the liquor, and the point to which it sinis therein, say 6, ia eiu elully and accurately marked upon the scale, and rated aa 10 compared with the zero point Eaoh of the grand diTi- siouB, consequently, represents ten per cent, of barlt, and each of the araaller ones, or BUbdivisions, ooirssponds with iLvGoOglf COMPOSITION f teristics of tlie hides render it impossi- ble to subject them to anything more thaai a general mode of treatment. As a general rule, the milder the process of preparing the hides for the lii^uor the better. Unnecessarily severe or pro- longed treatment is inevitably attended with a loss of gelatin, and, consequently, ■with a loss of weight and strength in the leather. Skins should be handled in weak liquor at first ; then increase the strength of the tanning liquor, and keep up the strength of it, and handle regularly, and of course the hides re- quire less and less handling, as the pro- cess .of tanning progresses — for the more they become tanned, the slower will one per cent, of bark. It ia very eoaj, tliei-afore, after haying determinad the length of the atem from zero, which Binka in a normal solntioa of barli, to apportion the rest of it witli the aid of a pair of dividers ; ao that everj inter- val thus apportionetposiTioN No. 9. lbs. of the 1st ingredient. lbs. of the 2d ingredient. _ lbs. of the 3d ingredient. _ lb. of the 6th ingredient. Dissolve these ingredients the same as in the preceding compositions. When iLvGooglf tliey are dissolved, pour tliem all to- gether into the vat; then run in a sufficient quantity of real strong hark liquor, and plunge it well up ; then lay the sides down with dusters, as usual, and let them lie in that position seven days; at the expiration of that period take the stock up again, and prepare a new liquor, which I shall denominate— CoMPOsmoH- No. 10. lbs. of the 1st ingredient. - - lbs. of the 2d ingredient. lbs. of the 3d ingredient. - - lb. of the 5th ingredient. Dissolve these ingredients as usual. After they are dissolved, pour them into the vat, and run in a sufficient quantity of real strong bark liquor ; plunge well up; then lay the sides down with dusters of bark, as usual, and let them iLvGooglf lie in that position eight days. At the expiration of that period, raise the stock out. Use the old liquor for a succeeding pack, and prepare a new liquor of the following ingredients, which I shall denominate — C0MP0SITI0]S" No. 11. ibs^ of the 1st ingredient. lbs. of the 2d ingredient. lbs. of the 3d ingredient. lbs. of the 5th' ingredient. Dissolve these ingredients as usual, and pour thetn into the vat; run in a sufficient quantity of real strong bark liquor; plunge it well; then lay down the stock with dusters, as usual, and let it remain in that condition nine days. At the expiration of that period remove the sides, and prepare a new liquor, which I shall denominate — iLvGooglf CoMPOSinoH" No. 13. lbs. of the 1st ingredient, Iba. of the 2d ingredient. lbs. of tlie 3d ingredient. ..._ Iba. of the 5tli ingredient. Dissolve these ingredients as usual. After they are dissolved, pour them into the vat, and run in a sufficient quantity of bark liquor, as strong as it can be made. Plunge it well up, so that it will make a liquor about forty per cent, strong. Then lay the stock down in the vat, with dusters of fine ground bark between every side, and let them lie in that position, ten days. This will make sixty-three days. The heaviest stock can be tanned in sixty days. I have frequently, tanned sole-leather in forty days by the judicious use of strong liquors. Leather can be made as good in forty days as it can in twelve months. iLvGooglf Leather tanned in forty days is mucli heavier than that in the long tanning. When these ingredients are dissolved in good, hot, soft water, and mixed with good bark liquor, they will make a superior tanning agent, whc«e active principles are very soluble. By being gradually extracted, they will pene- trate uniformly the whole of the ani- mal fibres, instead of acting chiefly upon the surface, and will make a heavy, solid article of leather. In fact, one hundred pounds of dry hides, quickly tanned in good liquor made with this combination, will produce about one hundred and sixty-five pomids of sole- leather; while one hundred pounds of dry hides, slowly tanned in the old way, with bark liquor, produce only one hun- di'ed and forty-three pounds, llie addi- tional twenty-two pounds' weight in the quick tanning serve materially to swell iLvGooglf SOLE-liEATHBR. the tanner's bill. At tlie end of ten days the stock may be taken out per- fectly tanned, and, in less than three months, it may be finished and in market. iLvGooglf iLvGooglf l- oonTenienee of water p w and f 1 ies of shipping hides and leather, are p oted by a wood engraving in front of this chapter. About 400 yards from the north end of the tannery — which is seen on the engraving — is a ' bridge, built aorosa the Schuylkill River, through which ii a road leading up to Clinton, which is also aeen in a distant view from the factory. About 300 yards from the iLvGoOglf aided process by which these wonders have "been accomplished, has been known and used in this country for some years. By the aid of this new process, whose principle is to bring the skins into rap- idly-repeated contact with the tanning liq^uor, leather is formed more rapidly and expeditiously, and of a better qual- ity. But no important improvement in any manufacturing business can come into general use without the co- operation of energetic business men engaged in it. In this age of improvements it cannot tannery is a inTa, built aeraas tlie river, 80 feet high, by the Sehuylkill Navigation Company, for the iiae of their canal. A little above the dam is a vMe, meAe for the pnr- poee of eupplying the factory with water, affording a very est«Q8ive power to turn the different machinery or works in the tannery ; and also a tail-race or -waste-way, lor car- rying the waste water from the factory into the river. On the opposite side of the river from the tannery, between the river and Clinton Village, is a eanal, or the Schuylkill Navigation ; and between the eana! and the village is seen iLvGoOglf possibly be considered a fixed fact that everything has arrived at its "manifest destiny" of perfection. There is room for improvements in every branch of manufacturing business. As to the art of tanning, I consider it yet in its infancy. The only way to progress is to make efforts to improve ; and the failure of a thousand plans should never be held up as a bugbear, or a barrier to arrest the introduction and trial of a new and reasonable process to improve any art. It is my opinion that improvements will on the engraving the BeadEng Eailroad, running from Philadelphia to Reading and Pottaville. The railroad depot is aliso represented by the engraving, ivhieh is one mile from the tannery. This large leather factory, rererred to in the illustration, was constructed upon my improved plan, and produces double the amount of tanned leather in one year than any other tannery in the State of the same size and espenae. This factory is tanning abont 15,000 sides a year, beaidea a great number of amall sltina. At the Clinton Tannery iLvGoOglf yet "be made in the manufacture of leather of such a character as will reduce its manufacturing cost at least one-half. After several years' e:^perimentii]g in the tanning of leather, and in trying to facilitate and expedite the process of manufacturing it, — I was very successful. However, experimenting with a variety of materials is very tediojis, laborious, and expensive. In a pursuit of this kind the patience of Job is often required. Attempts at improvement, perseveringly repeated, will in the end seldom fail. the greatest etrengtli of liquors used for handling, as indi- cated by Pikes barkometer, is 18 degrees ; that emplojed in laying away varies from S6 to 00 degrees. Much care and judgment is ueoessaiy in proportioning the continually inoreaaog etrengtli of the liquors to the requirements of the leather in different stages of the process. A glance at the illustration, and also at these notes, will at once eon- vince any one tbat the advantages of fluoh an establishment can not be surpassed by any other in the States. iLvGoOglf iLvGooglf iLvGooglf LvGooglf CHAPTER XV. THE MECHANIC'S TRUE POSITION. In passing through our laud and ob- serving the young, the eager, and the intelligent who are destined hereafter to fill high posts of trust and honor, — that from these would come your princely- merchants, your aldermen, mayors, rep- resentatives, men of iron nerves, warm hearts, and clear heads, ready to com- pete for the highest places in the pulpit, at the bar, or on the forum, and even, perhaps, the highest office in the gift of a free people, — why may they not rank, iLvGooglf "by their industry, iatelligence, and vir- tue, among tlic^e whom Ameiica will be proud to number among her devoted and patriotic sons? Not for i alone is the grand law of Nature inscribed on all the Creator's works, — not for ourselves alone, but for others, does the sun dispense his beams, — not for ourselves alone do the clouds distil their showers nor the teeming earth nnlock her treasures! So, my brother mechanics, it is not for ourselves alone, but for others, and for all, that the iLvGooglf TRUE POSITION. blessings of heaveu are so plentifuUy bestowed upon man. All that any of us can say is, that we are the almoners of God's bounty, and that what consti- tutes the true wealth of this great country— it is labor! Fix it as you -(htH — let who will live upon our bread and meat — still, labor lies at the founda- tion of all, and, without it, neither society nor civilization could exist. He who derides labor, or undervalues it, strikes at the order of Nature, the foundations of society— at civiEzation, and at Christianity itself. Labor is the very Gold of Ophir — the true, intrinsic wealth of a nation. The gold of elo- quence or the silver of rhetoric I have none, but such as I have give I unto you. iLvGooglf The hardy tilleiN of the boil are the foundation, and our induatriouis, working mechanics, the builders of our mighty fabric of national wealth, independence, and happiness. The laboring men and mechanics of our country are the true bone and sinew of the land — the main- spring and support of the machine of government. They ai'e, in truth, the creators of a nation's wealth — the great artificers of national prosperity. If the tyrant, Louis XIV., in the glory of his most splendid reign, could utter, in the pride of his borrowed, royalty, the iLvGooglf sentence, "I am the State," .with how much more truth , can we, the working men of the nation, say — and how much more noble and tme does it sound when we, the people, say — " We are the State ? " Where the mechanics are down-trodden and depressed— made hewers of wood and drawers of water to those who have robhed them of their nghts — there, such a monster as Louis, and other crowned heads, might well say, " I am the State." But let labor be honored as it is here— let light be shed upon the great depths of despotism as we now see it beginning to beam in Eu- i-ope — and you -will see the people there, as here, rising in their majesty and say- ing to their banished monarchs, . " We are the State." Let there be no more kings nor queens ! The mechanic ia not only the architect and builder of his own fortune, of society's and of a nation's iLvGooglf prosperity, but his is one of the most independent classes in the community. The professional man depends upon his mental gifts or accLuirementa ; and when he fails to gain the popular favor, or, by some sudden change, loses it, he is put to desperate shifts to earn a livelihood.. You have seen the crest-fallen lawyer, or the proud statesman or politician, hum- bly suing for aid at the comfortable fire-side of the mechanic. The sktUful artisan is an independent man ; for, place him in whatever part of the world you may, he can always secure his bread,, because he is capable of doing something that is useful to his fellow-man. The story of the two men cast away amoDg savages is an apt illustration. One was a gentleman, the other a basket-maker ; the basket-maker was well treated be- cause he could do something for himself; but the savages, in their simplicity, could iLvGooglf not understand what a gentleman ia, and, tlie basket-maker's handiwork saved the poor gentleman from starving. In the circles where true refinement never dwells, you may hear the expression sometimes used, as if in derision or com- miseration, " 0, he is only a working mechanic!" It may seem strange, "but there are men, and women, too, who can boast no other lineage themselves, and who, when told of this poor man's mis- fortune, or that man's sudden fall, pass over the matter with the cold remark of, " He is only a mechanic !" There are more happy, prosperous, noble men among the laboring mechanics of this, our land, than in any other class of equal numbers. There was a certain man, called Felix, in the Scriptures ; his coun- trymen were a proud race, and hated the laboring mechanic; but one of these despised men — a tent-maker — made this iLvGooglf 224 1 same Felix tremble, although only a me- chanic. Noah was a ship-wright ; Solo- mon an architect ; and those who built the pyramids, and planned the ancient, cities, whose ruins all the historians, philosophers, and learned men of mod- em times are j6t unable fully to ex- plain, — the great temples of the holy city of Jerusalem, — the renowned structures of Tyre and Sidon, of Balbec and Perse- polis, of Babylon and Palmyra, Thebes and Memphis, — wondrous monuments of the East, whose magnificence no modern ai't can excel, — who built them ? 0, it was only mechanics ! And then, who was the first mechanic ? The great Anthor of our being, that first built the world ; and then, as the sublimity of mechanism, He made ua "fearfully and wonder- fully." Give your attention for a mo- ment to the impulse given to modern improvement and the change wrought iLvGooglf TRUE POSITION. upon the face of the whole world by the invention of Faust, who gave light and knowledge tc. all mankind. To the of Colnmbns, the science of Franklin, the ingennity of Arkwright, the genins of Fulton and of Whitney, — mechanics all,— what does this nation Q^Q ^ — what does the civilized world owe, to these great men >, All the improve- ments that were ever made by all the kings and emperors, and by all the iLvGooglf artists, poets, philosophers, and states- men that ever lived, you may pile up in one scale, and they are outweighed by the discoveries of Faust, Fulton, and Whitney ; and yet these men earned their bread by the sweat of their brow ! We have a right to be proud that Franklin, and Fulton, and Whitney were all countrymen of ours, although only mechanics. Young as we are as a nation, such is the free scope and tend- ency of our institutions, and the salubrity of our glorious climate, to foster the full energies of the mind and to produce the whole man, that, in all the usefal me- chanic arts, we are outstripping the nations of the old world. In arts, and in arms, and in every worldly pursuit of man, our advancement stands unequaled since the world began. You all have duties to perform as citizens, neighbors, members of the great community of iLvGooglf TROB POSITION. 2i7 working and active men. Rome was not built in a day; nor can anything great or noble in buman ingenuity be accomplished without labor. It is the boast of the workingman that he can do what he says. The mechanics of our country, active and inteUigent as they are, may proudly hold up their heads, as a body, and say boldly to the politicians and the orators of the day, " What you promise we perform." While making some observations on this glorious re- public, destined to be the greatest in the world, for evidences not only of what mechanics can do, but what they have done, go into your public edifices, your exchanges, your temples devoted to the worship of God, and your halls of edu- cation, and there you will see the handi- work of labor. Look into your banks, your city councils, and then abroad into your States, and the most successful, the iLvGooglf most illustrious and beloved, are tlie ones who early learned tlie lesson of labor and how to think for themselves ; they were always up to their business, but never above it. There are two great levers which sus- tain us, — the one is employment ; the other, the knowledge of how to regulate and improve it. In other words, they are the union of occupation and instruc- tion. Nothing can give more satisfaction to the mind than the enjoyment of the necessaries and comforts of hfe flowing from the industry of him who earns them. This is the fruit of occupation ; and the improvements of society follow in proportion as the occupied mind ad- vances in proper cultivation. The absurd idea, that labor is inconsistent with learn- ing or respectability, is one of the errora of weak minds, ignorant of the nature of the ligaments which bind iLvGooglf TRUE POSITION. society together. It is one of tlie follies of antiquated fashioQ wHch is passing away; and we are now beginning to consider the mechanic trades, and all branches of honest industry, as the co- ordinate and necessary associates of education, integrity and manliness. The histoi-y of the social operations of man- kind teaches us that. In all periods of time, they have altered the destinies of individuals as well as of nations, and have had their influence upon ages to come. The physical industry of man is certainly a high quality; but, vigorous as it is, it gains so much by its associa- tion with a cultivated intellect, that while the one, when alone, resembles the rough materials of handicraft, and the other the latent genius that is to fashion them, they, both united, represent the perfection of skill and its fruitful appli- cation to the production of human hap- iLvGooglf pinesa. In former days, trades were merely physical ; none of the sciences, and bnt few branches of the fine arite, entered into their action. True, there ■were some few exceptions, dependent upon individual condition and scholar- ship; but, generally, labor in any calling was strictly and exclusively mechanical. There is now, however, a progressive spirit which belongs to the times. Whether it has resulted from the insti- tutions of this country — which, by cast- ing off the trammels of political tyranny, and by the abundance of our land for an easy support, have enabled men to think more freely and consistently with the object of their creation and posi- tion — or is a part of a pervading princi- ple which the Divine Being has permitted to spread through the world, is a prob- lem for solution. Be this as it may, we see that there is evidently an advance in iLvGooglf TRUE POSITION. -iOi the different trades and their branches, a more intimate relationship between mind and the labors of the operator, a clearer working through the lights of reason, so that, even among the inferior callings, the lamp of science sheds its rays, even if it is seen only in flickerings from the distance at which it stands. It has been said that all men have their mental affinities; that some pass un- heeded away, without having left any "footprints in the sand of time," only because the period of their sojourning presented no occasions, no elective influ- ence to draw out their energies or their talents, while the great are but the creatures of opportunity, or who, having been touched by the Ithuriel wand, have sprung out into ligHt, brightness, and renown. Opportunity is certainly a great ingredient in any effort ; and with- out it, either offered or acquired, no iLvGooglf THE MECHANIC S voluntary act can well succeed." The tanner should have a thorough knowl- edge of chemistry ; and, by applymg his acquired knowledge to the branch of industry which has engaged his special attention, he makes a good leather manufacturer and becomes a well- instructed man in the general business of life. The eharactei'istic traits of a man are also elements of his future ; but still it should add to the credit of the individual, who, cultivating an under- standing of his nature and his latent abilities, uses them to advantage in that " tide in the affairs of men, which, taken at the iood, leads on to fortune." The time was, and in some degree still is, when reputation in honors was princi- pally founded upon, and esteemed for, distinction in literature, the fine arts, the emblazonments of wealth, and the peti- tions which they respectively gave. The iLvGooglf TRUE POSITION. r^t, like hewers of wood and drawers of water -wlio served at the building of Solomon's temple, were supposed to be sufficiently compensated by the daily penny paid for their labors. No mark or memorial was left upon the edifice of their works ; and, except in the narrow circle of their industry, none knew of their labors or their zeal. In the gen- eral operations of the society of the good and hardy tanners, it is not to be expected that the mere ordmary com- ponents of that great whole shall be held in any special remembrance, either in the present or the future. Much will be, as has already been, done by the agency of those very qualiti^ in placing honorable occupation of labor upon the true level of its merits. Tanner, pause, and accompany me, for a moment, to what has already been observed relative iLvGooglf THE MECHANIC S to labor and industry; mai'k out the way, and forget not to follow it. The end crowns the work, and so have the good results of labor left a crown upon the name more endearing to the good man than all the pomp and cir- cumatance that power, alone, or wealth could purchase. The days of chivalry aiTsing from the power of kings and nobles, the empires of war and victo- ries, crusades of faith, and the necessary maintenance of the followers of such errantries, as well while they lasted as in "the canters of a long peace," were the beginnings of the false distinctions which made idleness honorable and left industry with only the reward of its own products. It takes time to accomplish any revolution which shall be of perma^ nent benefit ; and it is proper it should be so, as improvements are worked out in the progress of experience which iLvGooglf TRCB POSITION. could not be made in a leap from one condition to another. The doctrine of a necessity for usefal occupation in all men is a great element in this change. Men do not begin to think calmly or wisely in the turmoil of exciting pursuits. It is only when they are falling into their proper places in the great community, and putting their shonlder to the wheel to do something useful, that they per- ceive their relative petitions, their obli- gations, and the duties which belong to them as integrants of the whole. It is, therefore, industry which is the ground- work of reform, both moral and politi- cal ; it is the basis of domestic virtue, comfort, and plenty ; and the producer of what sustains a nation and improves its condition. "When to this is added education, its followers are the support- ers of man in all his conditions, wants, iLvGooglf advances, and elegancies of life, and are the safeguards of society. These reflections arise spontaneously from the nature of the subject "we are discussing, as being intimately connected with the career of the good man, re- claiming or saving from time what would otherwise be lost. If it be creditable to perpetuate the knowledge of the deeds of man in arms — of wars that have deso- lated the earth and left misery and sighs to be felt again in after ages by those who deprecate atid sympathize while they read — how much more worthy an effort is it to record in imperishable form the good civic conduct of those unpretending men who have labored during their lives for the common weal, and. who make, in every field, two blades of grass grow where only one grew before ? iLvGooglf In the world's broad field of battle- la the bivouac of life — Be not hke the driven cattle; Be a hero in the strife! Lives of great men al! remind us, "We can make our own sublime, And, departing, leave behind us Footsteps in the sand of time. Let us, then, be up and doing, "With a heart for any fate ; Still achieving, still pursuing, Learn to labor and to wait. - It belongs to' you, my brother me- chanic, to rise in the world. You who are willing to be advised by those who have esperience, consult the "wise and good and profit by their examples. If you would succeed in life, let your motto be not only to look ahead, but go ahead. Set your mark high, and strive to reach iLvGooglf it. You can succeed if you will remem- ber, my friends, tlie almost omnipotent power of perseverance, tlie power of industry and of labor — you who are just beginning the world — that fourteen or sixteen houre a day are sure to foot a good account and seldom need an indorser, " Order is heaven's first law," and the Scripture tells us to " Let every- thing be done decently and iu order." The man of method is generally a suc- cessful man. The neglect of this great principle has ruined its tens of thousands. An excellent rule is. Let nothing be ne- glected that can be done to-day. "What- ever you undertake, pursue it steadily if you wish to succeed ; for wherever there is a will there is a way ; then forget not the advice of the wise man, "And with all thy getting get understanding." Bear in mind that the laboring mechanic should educate his head, his hands, and iLvGooglf TETJE POBITION. lis heart. He will tins leam to distin- guisl good from evil, to know how to supply lis wants and add to lis com- forts, and low to dispense Uessings to all around him. iLvGooglf iLvGooglf iLvGooglf Ho^toi LvGooglf CHAPTER XVI. THE TANNERS' CHEEE. AwARO of cheer to the hearty tanner, And a blesBing on his trade ; A leather bough shall be his banner, Over all the land displayed. Amid the forest-giant's winding, While far away the hunter's coil Round the wild bull's neck is binding, He marts the noblest for his spoil. "Work on, yc Pitmen all! And let the hide be sound Work on! joy to the land Where working-men aboun< iLvGoOglf t TEE TANNBB8 CHEER. His labor gives the world protectioa In an ever changing form, From the summer sun's reflection And the winter's raging storm. It guards the tread of the sturdy yeoman, And guides his plow-horse over the mead; It adorns the lovely foot of woman, And reins the patriot's battle steed. Work on, ye Curriers all ! And let the beam resound; Work on! joy to the land Where working-men abonnd! The wit and lore of bygone ages, His labor saves from swift decay-; It guards the Bible's holy pages, And grasps the follies of the day. It aids the loom's bright imitation By turning every busy wheel ; It bears the stream to stay the And sheathes the warrior's flashing steel. iLvGoOglf THE TAMNEB8 OHEEB. ^ Work on, ye Tanners all! And let the. song go round; Work on! joy to the land Where working-men abound ! See illustration in front of tliis chapter, representing a party of Tanners ainging tie above worda. iLvGoOglf iLvGooglf iLvGooglf :.,Googlc CHAPTER xyn. COPY OF PATENT, GRANTED APRIL 14, 1857. THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. TO ALL TO WHOM TH3SE LBTTERS PATENT SHALL come: Whekbas, David H. Kennedy, of New Alexandria, Pennsylvania, lias alleged that lie has invented a new and usefal composition for tanning Mdes, whicli he states has not been known or used before his application ; has made oath that he is a citizen of the United States; that he does verily believe that he is the original and first inventor or discoverer of the iLvGooglf said composition, and that the same hath not, to the best of his knowledge and belief, been previously known or used, has paid into the treasury of the UiirrrED States the sum of thirty dollai-s, and presented a petition to the Commissioneb OF Patents, signifying a desire of ob- taining an exclusive property in the said composition, and praying that a patent may be granted for that purpose, — These are, therefore, to grant, according to law, to the said David H. Kennedy, his heirs, administrators, or assigns, for the term of fourteen years, from the fourteenth day of April, one thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, the fall and exclusive right and hberty of making, constructing, using, and vending to others to be used, the said composition, a description whereof is given in the words of the said Kennedy, in the schedule hereunto annexed, and is made a part of these presents. iLvGooglf In testimony whereof, I have caused these letters to be made patent, and the seal of the Patent Office has "been hereunto affixed. Given under my hand, at the city of Washington, this fourteenth day of April, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, and of the independence of the United States of America the eighty-first. Jacob Thompson, Secretary of the Interior. [l. s.] S. T. Shugert, Asst. Comm'r of Patents. Countersigned, and sealed with the seal of the Patent Oflice. iLvGooglf iLvGooglf OIIAPTEE XVIII. COPY OF SPECIFICATION OF PATENT. THE SCHEDULE EEPBEEED TO IN THESE LETTERS PATENT, AND MAKING PAKT OF THE SAME. To all to wJwm these presents shall come: Be it known ttat I, David H. Ken- nedy, formerly of Reading, in the county of Berks, but now of New Alexandria, in the county of "Westmoreland, and State of Pennsylvania, have invented or discovered certain new and usefiil com- positions of matter to be used in the tanning of leather ; and the following is iLvGooglf a full, clear, and exact description of the maimer of preparing and using the same: This composition consists of pounds of or of ■ poimdsof of....; .... pounds of of or of ; ... pound of of ; . . . pounds of ( of . . . .) ; . . . pound of or ; These ingredients should be dissolved separately in hot water, or in a hot decoction of tan bark, which is preferar He, and then poured into, a tank, and thoroughly stirred together to form the tanning hquor, which may be drawn off as required, to supply the vats or vessels in which the hides are to be tanned. The tanning liquor thus formed in the tank is in the most concentrated form, and only suitable to apply to hides in the advanced stages of the tanning pro- iLvGooglf INDEX. Advantages of tliis Process 33 American Ox-hides 4^ AMean Hides 45 African Slciiis 61 Albumen, nature of 61- Buenos Ajrea Hides ■'8 Brassilian Hides ^^ Bull-hides 41 Beam-house ^^ Bating ^^ Census— Tanning Interest in 1855 22 Capitalists, Facts and Estimates for 28 Cow-hides 40 Calcutta, or Nagore Hides 4G Calf-skins 48 Chemistry Defined ^' Clinton Tannery 195 iLvGoOglf Copy of Patent 249 Copy of Specification 253 Depilation, Ratjonalo of 15 Domestic or Slaughtered Hides 44 Deer-skins 54 Epidermis ,' 62 Example of Tanning One Hundred CaJf-skina, 121 Example of Tanning Ox-hidcs for Patent Leather igg Example of Tanning Sole-leather 149 France — Its Trade in Leather 19 Fibrine, Nature of 62 Goat-skins. 51 Gelatine, Mulder's View of , , 66 Grained Leather 178 Hair, Primitive Mode of Removing 15 Hides Suitable for Tanning, 35 — Buenos Ayres, 38— Brazilian, 39— Large Ox, 40— Bull, 41 —From Diseased Carcass, 48— Frauds in Sale o^ 43 — Domestic Slaughtered, 44 — California, 44 — Spanish and African, 45 — Nagore, 46— Yearimgs, 45— Horse, 51— Mode of Salting, 56— Washing and Soaking, 6S iLvGoOglf ;ed in Tanning, !I5— Propectiea and Prices of ^9 Lime, Use of, in Tanning, 15— Its Effects on Hides, 8T— Ita Antiseptic Properties 88' Liquor for Coloring and Gr^ning 122 Loatker, Statistics of, 22— Egyptian Workers of, 14 — Steps in Manufacture of, 14 — Cur- rying and Finishing of, 167— Shaving, 168 —Harness, 178— Blacked Bridle, 177— Ru^t Bridle, 178— Horae, 178— Was, 178 —Grained, 178— Patent, 179— Texture and Quality of, 135- Bloomed, 190— Examina- tion of, 192— Its Antiquity, 206— Manufac- ture of 207 Madagascar Hides ^5 Mechanics, True Position of 217 Method, One Year's Work by Old, 28— By New, 29- Advantages of New, 32— Saving by New ^^ Nagore Ox *^ Ox-hides for Patent Leather 13''' Patent Leather, Hides Used for -44 iLvGoOglf Sir Humplirey Davy and Others, ] tioiis of 16 Skins, Cal^ 48— Goat, 51— Sheep, 52— Deer, 54 — Composition ofi 59— African, 61 — Li- quor for Coloring and Graining 122 Spanish Hides 45 SaltingHides 55 Splitting-machine 141 Tanaery, Clinton 195 Tannin, Mulder's Opinion o^ 65 — Affinity with Gluten 66 Tanning, Antiquity of, 14— flow Effected, 17 — Advantages of Patent Process of, 26 — In- gredients Used in, 95 — Composition for, 109 — Composition No. 2 HO Unhairhig, Composition for, 81 — Drawbacks on the Old Plan, 8V— Eemarks on 195 Work by OH Method, 28— By New 29 Water, the Influence of its Quality in Tanning, Ve— rEain the Purest 11 Yearlings, Hides of Neat 45 iLvGoOglf